In 2018, Tennesseans faced elections that will shape the course of the state's and federal leadership for years to come. In the lead up to the election it was vital for voters from Mountain City to Memphis to understand who was running, what they stood for and what they planned to do as your next U.S. senator, governor or state lawmaker.

That's where we come in. Grand Divisions is a politics and policy podcast brought to you by The Tennessean and colleagues throughout The USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee. Look for new episodes every week, complete with current events, special guests, fact-checking and more.

Find each episode here, subscribe to Grand Divisions on iTunes or find the show anywhere you typically listen to podcasts.

Guests: Mariah Cole, Equity Alliance; Jennifer Kavanaugh, author of Truth Decay: An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life; and Arthur Lupia, author of Uninformed: Why People Seem to Know So Little About Politics and What We Can Do About It